The reviews are true. Don and his team are skilled and accommodating. I've been there a few times now and every time I'm there it reminds me why I go back.Once I went in to have the brakes checked-I knew the rotors needed to be replaced. The estimate was pleasantly surprising because I had already had the brakes looked at by the dealer and they told me pretty much the same thing except they wanted to charge me 4x the amount.After I had the work done on the brakes they started making a funny noise so I took the car back without an appointment and Don and Ray got me in right away. They re-inspected he car and made a few adjustments and the noise was gone.I was skeptical and didn't believe them at first that everything was okay. So one of the mechanics went out with me on a test drive and explained what he personally did to the rotors and how it was fixed now. I told him I was about to leave for a mountain trip with my two kids (totally true by the way) and how I really needed to feel like my brakes were done correctly and that we would be safe. He assured me the work was done well and that he had kids and understood where I was coming from and said he was sure everything was good to go.Fast forward a few months: mountain trip complete, brakes no longer making noise, home safe and sound, no issues since.On said mountain trip, a squirrel got into my car (for 3 plus days) and did lots of electrical wiring damage. Too long of a story for a Yelp review, but in the end, my car ended up back at Santa Monica Motors. Don remained unfazed as I explained the situation and warned him that the squirrel may still be in the car somewhere. He said he would take care of it.Fast forward: squirrel gone, electrical wiring fixed, now overly anxious about rodents getting trapped in car.Don and his team of mechanics are the real deal. I trust them with my car. Trust and car are two words that rarely go together when describing car mechanics. But for this business, it works.